The adventure begins!

In the history of all the Mondays I've ever had, I think this week's Monday counted as my hardest. What should have been a simple blood result screening turned up results that turned my world upside down.

The setting:

     A non-descript doctors office room, with little in decor to keep a patient entertained while the doctor is an hour late for the appointment.

The characters:

     Myself:  A busy mom of five, with not nearly enough energy. Too many pounds overweight, and way more tired than should be normal, even for someone packing an extra 70ish pounds.

     Dr P:  A rather handsome looking doctor who is the perfect example of good health. Probably is good friends with a gym. Definitely is good friends with his food.

The scene:

     Dr. P enters with a handful of yellow papers. Seven papers that will change my life forever.

As he begins to scroll through the results, he throws out the most random one first. "You have one of the most severe peanut allergies I've seen in a long time," he says.

"No I don't," I reply, my confidence in him ebbing a bit. Why I had peanut butter that very morning, and have no symptoms to show for it. No itchy rash. No breathing problems. Already this visit is not going as I hoped.

"Actually, you do," he insists. "You can't see what that peanut butter is doing to the inside of you."

Oh. He's got me there. And my stomach certainly hasn't been feeling the best lately.

The diagnosis continues, with Dr. P making mark after mark on those blasted yellow papers. I won't share with you all the boring details. But after lots of bantering back and forth between the two of us about things he says are wrong with me that I disagree with, I get the final results.

My allergies and sensitivities include the following:

Wheat

Gluten

Peanuts

Milk (but hard cheeses are ok)

Eggs

Almonds

Oats

Soy

and... drum roll please...

Sugar

In a nutshell, for at least the next three months I have to eat a diet as if I have Celiac Disease as well as Candida. Awesome.

While I listen to the growing list of the Can'ts in my diet (no starches, mushrooms, blue cheeses), the list of Cans slowly dwindle away.  He sends me on my way, with no real guidance (or so I think).  Here I am today, with a diagnosis I don't know how to handle, and a big question mark as to what dinner will be tonight.

Welcome to my blog. Over the next few months I will share with you my journey of discovery as I try to follow Dr. P's orders. Wish me luck. I'll need it!